Chapter 262 - 261: The Curse, Part 2: Suppression.

For the next few minutes, Severus watched intently as the two curses struggled against each other, each trying to gain the upper hand, but so far without success.

Though they were not equal in power, his continued feeding of one curse put the other in a desperate position. It had to expend all its resources just to resist, growing weaker by the moment while its influence on Nagini’s body decreased geometrically.

When they finally crossed a certain threshold, his eyes flashed. He made several rapid hand gestures, and the magic circle beneath her blazed even brighter. Tens of thousands of runes erupted from it, then began forming, one by one, a completely different circle on the ceiling, at the center of which a dragon’s head was depicted.

As this happened, a glass vessel materialized before her, filled with a shimmering, rainbow-hued, transparent liquid that emanated a warm glow.

"Drink!" Severus commanded, and the lids flew off the barrels lining the walls.

Hearing his voice, she slowly opened her eyes. Noticing the vessel hovering before her, she parted her jaws and let the moderately sweet, pleasant-tasting liquid flow down her throat. Lightness filled her entire body, and the pain slowly began to recede.

She also sensed that after taking this strange potion, the two dark magical masses grew agitated. If their sudden stillness and retreat to different corners of her body could be called agitation, then they had hidden themselves away.

However, only a small portion of this warmth headed toward them. The rest divided: one portion settled just below her head, while the second seemed to leave her body entirely.

At the edge of her consciousness, she still sensed that energy but could not determine its exact location. It was strange, but she was not particularly concerned.

What pleased her far more was that the pain had finally begun to fade.

With each passing second, she felt better and better. However, she was not allowed to enjoy this peace for long. In the next moment, she felt as though she were falling, and something strange enveloped her.

When she opened her eyes again, she was shocked to realize she was suspended in a red sphere. After tasting it, she immediately understood it was blood, and extremely potent blood at that.

*He didn’t say it would be like this! How disgusting...* she thought with revulsion. *But at least the pain is finally gone, and... they’ve stirred again...* The curses had awakened and both rushed simultaneously toward the area just below her head, where that warm energy had settled. *Severus said the core is located there... but... it’s already too late...* At that same instant, another type of magic began penetrating her body. Though much weaker than the light magic, it was still head and shoulders above both curses. In her subconscious, she heard strange roars reminiscent of dragons, like the recordings Severus had once shown her. *So... it has begun...*

As soon as this thought flashed through her mind, the first curse to reach that location was caught in a trap. No matter how it struggled, it was quickly destroyed, and the dominant energy began seizing her body, filling every cell of her being.

It was a peculiar sensation. She felt no pain or discomfort: nothing at all. It was as if she were observing these metamorphoses from the outside, falling into a trance-like state.

*Why am I so sleepy... Severus... he said something about this... but... what...?* With each passing moment, the drowsiness grew stronger, and her eyes began closing on their own, but

*DON’T SLEEP!* The voice was like a sudden clap of thunder. Her eyes snapped open, and she stared in amazement at herself, or rather, at her snake form, dozens of meters away. Looking around, she could see nothing but pitch-black darkness, which confused her.

"Where am I? He didn’t say anything about this... strange..." When she looked down, she saw a pair of thin, pale human arms. "It can’t be..." Not believing her eyes, she swallowed hard and touched her face with trembling fingers. "A nose... lips... ears... hair... I... I’m human again...?" Tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"I don’t want to disappoint you, but this is only your inner world," came a calm but familiar voice from her right.

"Severus!" She would have recognized him anywhere. Turning her head, she saw him, looking thoughtful, in dark trousers and a white shirt, his gaze fixed on the enormous snake ahead.

"I... I...!"

"I see, but that’s only in here," he said gently, shaking his head as he looked at the girl before him, exactly like the one in the photograph, but with a twist. "I didn’t realize you had such a fetish..."

"Huh?" She blinked in confusion, then looked down and finally noticed.

"Ahhh! Close your eyes! Turn away! Pervert!" Blushing furiously and covering herself, she hissed at him.

"First, make up your mind: should I close my eyes or turn away? And why am I the pervert when you appeared naked in front of me?" He raised his chin with a smirk, giving her figure an appraising look. "Passing grade."

"Turn away, Sev..." But before she could finish, he produced a black robe out of nowhere and tossed it to her. She caught it deftly, quickly wrapped herself in it, and glared at him, though he was grinning cheerfully at her. "...already... thank you..."

"You’re welcome." He turned his attention back to the enormous reptile. "As I said, this is your inner world... although..." He glanced around for a few seconds, then shook his head. "Too sparse to be called that. More like a temporary inner world."

"Temporary? How so?"

"Most likely it was created to house your consciousness and let you observe the transformation process."

"Transformation? Has something changed?" she asked in confusion, clutching the robe and peering at her snake form.

"Look closely at the scales: they’ve become rougher than before, and the shape has changed slightly." Her face flushed again.

"Um... I don’t remember... I’ve never really examined my scales closely before..."

"Fine. In a few minutes, you’ll notice other changes yourself. But... this is strange... I’ve never read about anything like this..." He stroked his chin thoughtfully, trying to understand what was happening.

"Maybe I’m just special?" she asked, her eyes gleaming.

"I wouldn’t say that. You’re quite ordinary, almost unremarkable, except for your lovely face and figure, cursed girl," he answered without hesitation. "But this will need to be studied later."

"No tact at all..." she sighed with a smile, unsure whether to laugh or cry. He had complimented her appearance, which she appreciated, but he had crushed all her dreams of being special with such a brutal response.

"Hmm? Did you say something?" he asked, snapping out of his thoughts.

"No, nothing. So am I to stay here until the transformation is complete?"

"Yes, but I still think there was a reason you were sent here. But anyway, do you mind if I keep you company?"

"As if you don’t know the answer," she replied with a smirk, glancing at him. He was smiling warmly at her. Her cheeks turned pink again.

---

Meanwhile, outside the glass where the ritual had taken place, a massive red gem hovered. Within it, a dark silhouette as large as the crystal itself could be seen: Nagini’s form.

The gem was crystallized dragon blood.

"Judging by the speed, the transformation will take at least three days... I expected it to be faster... but I’m glad everything went well," he said, his red eyes continuing to study the flow of magic coursing through her body.

"Thank Merlin..." Eileen sighed with relief at his words.

"Congratulations, young man. You have done the impossible, twice now," Li Er said cheerfully, floating toward Severus, followed by the rest of the Qilin, who squealed joyfully and rubbed against his legs.

Each of them could clearly see Nagini’s pure soul and understood who was responsible for their kind mistress’s recovery. After all, they were far more attached to her and Eileen, who played with and cared for them, than to Severus, who, strangely enough, seemed indifferent to such things.

"Not just me. Without that water and your suggestions, I doubt this would have been possible."

"I merely hastened this day. Thanks to you, I’ve learned much. It’s almost a pity such a genius was not born in China," Li Er sighed, gazing at the crystal.

"Given the number of wizards in your country, you already have plenty of geniuses," Severus replied with a smirk, reminding him that China had nearly seventeen times more wizards than Britain. Li Er looked slightly embarrassed.

"By the way, who is this Merlin you keep mentioning?" he asked, trying to change the subject, which drew smiles from those gathered.

"Ask the house-elves: they’ll find the information for you. But in simple terms, he made the greatest contribution to the development of the British magical world." Summoning a chair, Severus sank into it and leaned back. "By the way, what do you think about celebrating in three or four days? For her, this is like a second birth."

"I’ll handle it," Eileen offered, but Severus looked at her with unconcealed skepticism. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Um... no. You’ve been quite involved, so I think it’s best to entrust this to you." He couldn’t very well say he didn’t trust her tastes: he remembered the kind of functions aristocrats liked to host, and she was an aristocrat to the bone. But after some consideration, he accepted her offer. "Tobby and Gorby are at your disposal. Don’t trouble Nelly; she already has enough to do. And... I should probably purchase three more house-elves from the school. One is overwhelmed, and I’ve been wanting to try training an artifact crafter..."

Listening to his mumbling, she frowned slightly but kept her thoughts to herself.

"Very well, I’ll begin preparations immediately."

"And I must go. I need to continue their training, and don’t forget what you promised me when I finish," Li Er said, following Eileen. The Qilin, after glancing one last time at the crystal and rubbing their heads against Severus’s palm, scampered after him.

In a little over a minute, the room was nearly empty.

"And you?" Severus looked down at Lucky, who was purring contentedly on his lap as he stroked him.

"Purrrrr..." Lucky merely flicked his tail lazily.

"All right, then let’s wait together." Continuing to pet him, Severus spoke with Nagini through their master-familiar bond in that strange place resembling an inner world, watching her snake form transform.

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